Nutrition

The Importance of Diet and Nutrition in the 21st Century

How true are these sayings?
          ‘You are what you eat.’
          ‘One man's meat is another man's poison.’

The increase in disease amongst people in Western Nations is a serious cause for concern. A contributing factor is the increase of degenerative disease caused by faulty nutrition.

How could this be? Consider this:

Recent research has highlighted the fact that there are many different possible levels of nutrition imbalance.  You may eat what you regard as a healthy diet, but the question is, is it healthy for you?

The measure of the quality of our food is taken at two distinct levels:  the macronutrient level and the micronutrient level.

Micronutrients:

Micronutrients are the vitamins, minerals, enzymes and cofactors that are necessary for the proper functioning of the body processes.  They are found in fresh, natural, unprocessed food products and in good quality pill and liquid supplements.  In many cases the body is able to metabolise these mironutrients from the elements of our food. 

There are some micronutrients that the body is unable to make and these are called essential nutrients.  For instance, our bodies are unable to manufacture vitamin C and we need a regular intake of this vital amine (vit - amin) from foods.  Deficiencies in these micronutirnts lead to a varient of deficiency disorders, such as scurvy (vit C), rickets and osteoporosis (vit D) and iron deficiency anaemia.

Macronutrients:

Macronutrients are divided into three categories:

• fats
• proteins
• carbohydrates.

The amounts of these we require is determined by our metabolic type.  For instance a 'protein type' requires a higher proportion of protein and fats than does a 'carbohydrate type'. 

And furthermore, people with the same symptoms may have totally different imbalances.  This is why allopathic treatments for, say, heart disease, whether they be from a GP or from a naturopath, work better for some people than for others.  Ultimately, if only your symptoms are being treated, there's no guarantee that your body will ever regain full health.

So what can you do to make sure you have adequate nutrition?

The Metabolic Typing diet strives to address this; (see The Metabolic Typing Diet by William Wolcott and Trish Fahey).  For the vast majority of people who consider themselves reasonably healthy this book is an excellent tool for maintaining your health and even taking it to a new level.

For those who have a few minor symptoms, like allergies or aches and pains, or the more worrying symptoms of degenerative diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, etc, an in-depth analysis of your metabolic type at Well Healed will assist you in re-establishing balance in your body at the cellular level and ultimately achieving optimal health.

Here are some excellent suggestion to get you started in the meantime:

1. Buy fresh, organic food as much as you can. Grow your own fruits and vegetables in organically fertilised soils. Eat only unprocessed foods. Ensure you buy your fresh produce from a store that has a high turnover of these goods.
   
2. Get educated. Research or seek information on lifestyle changes.
   http://www.soil-health.org.nz/(new window opens)
   ttp://www.organicpathways.co.nz/(new window opens)
   http://www.westonaprice.org (new window opens)
   http://www.mercola.com(new window opens) 

  3.     A diligent farmer gives his herds and flocks a ‘salt lick’ made of several essential minerals. We also need to ensure that our intake of minerals is adequate. And antioxidants are necessary to help us mop up the free radicals that cause damage to our cells, resulting in disease. Therefore we must supplement our diets with the highest quality nutritional products. For more information contact us.